Typically margarine, butter or other bread spreads are on offer by means of a normal margarine packet with a knife at breakfast and buffet tables in hotels, restaurants, canteens and corresponding places. The problem relating to these open packets is that they are visually unattractive, and even unhygienic. In addition, the quality of the margarine decreases during the serving because of an interference of the cooling of the product.
Another typical way to offer spreadable fats, jams, marmalade or other bread spreads is to provide pre-packet portions, which are a more hygienic solution. However, this solution is not environmentally friendly due to the huge amount of waste from the packages.
Some automatic devices have been developed for dispensing butter or margarine in small portions, e.g. patent publication EP1358115. However, the problem relating to this kind of automatic dispensing devices is that they comprise a lot of elements which have to be detached from the device when the device is loaded with the substance to be dispensed. These elements must also be cleaned by hand before being reinstalled into the device. In addition, the filling of the container of the device with the butter or margarine has to be done by hand, which is time-consuming and even unhygienic.